canister filter

[bronco862]

hey guys.

i'm using a cascade 1000 on my 45 gallon tank. it's been up for a while and i wanted to open up and take a look at the guts of my canister, and clean out/replace some stuff.


i was going to buy a sock, and fill it with chem pure elite, and purigen, instead of the regular activated carbon. is this a good idea?? should i take another route???


also, should i clean all the black sponges thoroughly??? how about the white floss???

 

[dartfrog]

yes both products work great in a canister filter, I used both for a long time and had good results. Ideally you should clean any sponge or floss material with salt water from your tank (after a water change is when I did it), every two weeks was a schedule I used for years. I only got nitrate build-up if I didn't keep to a regular maintenence schedule. Definately not the ideal filter system for a reef tank, but if maintained regularly, they can work fine.

 

[bronco862]

but did you ever use the two of them together. in the same bag??


and yeah, i want a sump but i dont know if it would be worth it.


i'd have to drain my tank, and move my tank to a different stand with a closed section below it. my current stand is open. and my cat would play with a sump if i put it there haha.

 

[dartfrog]

The chemi pure is not supposed to be taken out of the bag that it comes in, it is basically carbon mixed with some sort of resin. It would be very messy to take out of the bag. The Purigen can be reused after soaking in bleach and water (regenerated), so it would not be a good idea to mix the two in the same bag anyway. Just get one filter bag for the Purigen and leave the chemi pure in the bag it comes in. Yes, they can both be run at the same time.

If its possible in the future to install a sump, it would be a great benefit. I know how hard it is to make the swap on a running tank, but it can be done. You can drill a hole for the overflow with water level lowered just below the new hole (that's if you're brave enough, there are some on here that are, and you may ask some of them for help or guidence), or use an overflow box to get the water to the sump. Either way you could do it with little disturbance to the tank.

As for the cat...you could, with a little work cover up the stand or make/get a sump with a lid....I'd get rid of the cat!

 

[bronco862]

LOL. i'd get rid of the cat but my better half would get rid of me.

maybe i WILL cover up the stand, that sounds like a good idea.


that or i'll drain almost all the water out, and then put the new stand next to the old and have someone help me slowly slide it over.

 

[dartfrog]

A sump is definately the better choice, a 45 gallon tank can be emptied and moved to a new stand, and refilled, in a few hours, if planned properly. Canister filters work but IMO they just aren't capable of keeping the tank stable enough without a whole lot of work.
I ran a Fluval 304 and a 405 at the same time on a 54 gal undrilled corner for almost 4 yrs. I did 5-10 gal W/C every week and rotated cleaning one of the filters each week, so each filter got cleaned every two weeks. If I deviated from that scedule, even a little, I'd run into problems. If you do go with a sump keep the canister filter running for a month or so till the sumps biological parts catch up.

You can always teach the cat to swim...

 

[dartfrog]

I'd just wait until the bug hits you to upgrade tanks. Then, wait for a good deal on a used RR tank here that comes with a stand, etc. and do a an entirely new tank. Don't worry... it'll happen.

A much better option...there are always great deals on here, and you could probably do it for less $ than changing current tank over. If the right deal comes along.

 

[bronco862]

yeah. i was thinking of doing that. but i'm an apartment dweller and the scary dreams i have of moving already haunt me enough haha!

maybe i will get a sump. what do you guys use?? rubble? bio balls? purigen? chem pure?

 

[rolo65]

i myself made my sump from a 15g long tank....cut the acrylic for the baffles....set aside room for an insump refugium....as for the chemi-pure....if you do set up a sump system....get a filter sock for the drain and throw the bag of chemipure in the sock....thats what im running.....made the fuge with a deep sand beed...(3")....and some LR rubble.....along with some Fiji gold reef mud.

 

[dakota9]

bronco862;448031 wrote: hey guys.

i'm using a cascade 1000 on my 45 gallon tank. it's been up for a while and i wanted to open up and take a look at the guts of my canister, and clean out/replace some stuff.


i was going to buy a sock, and fill it with chem pure elite, and purigen, instead of the regular activated carbon. is this a good idea?? should i take another route???


also, should i clean all the black sponges thoroughly??? how about the white floss???

Purigen is great, but I made the mistake of using the bottled stuff and putting it in a bag that didn't securely close and had a purigen snow storm. Literally, my tank looked like a 65gal snow globe for two weeks. I'd suggest buying the pouch of Purigen and throwing that in your canister. The Purigen pouch treats up to 100 gallons, and is reusable, so that is really all you'll ever need.

If the floss is just bulk floss, then it is disposable, no bothering to wash it, just toss it and buy more. If it's a form fitting pad, you'll want to replace it with the same, or wash the one you have.

That should be done every few weeks, depending on how heavy a bio-load you're running.

If you're in Midtown, you probably aren't more than 10 minutes away from me. Nice to see people on the forum that are close by.

Convince your better half </em>that cat's are so "last decade" and reefs are the wave of the future....

 

[bronco862]

hahaha. i think she'll understand now. she just went with me to marine fish in marietta and drooled at their show tank. not that my 45 will EVER come together like that, but still. i'm aloud to pray


i just bought a 9 dollar galaxia, and a pretty mushroom for 9 dollars, at this random pet store.